Working with Echidna was wonderful. She understood her workers needed time and training to be a good employee, and never begrudged anyone if they needed to take any leave or just some downtime. I actually shouldn't be here anymore, as I had clocked in over eight hours for today. Almost finishing finding the threads were making me stubborn though, my jaws clenching as I set my sights on all the given data.
I just needed to focus. To let myself go even further, so I could look wider, understanding and gaining more in one go. Seeing the whole painting, rather than the detailed strokes when you get down to it.
All nine monitors were moving, flowing and mixing with data already there and ones just taken. I took deep breaths as I looked through each one, my fingers moving through the keyboard as I worked and finding the patterns forming--My phone rang, its voice shrill and cutting, loud within the already darkened and empty room.
I jerked in my seat, losing the thread I was sure I would have grasped if this didn't happen. There would only be one person doing this, and a peek at my screen gave me the unwanted answer. 'Braid' wasn't written on it, merely a string of symbols and characters. Just a precaution. Every contact in this phone had that, with each group needing a different key to understand.
Nonetheless, I picked the call up, not having much of a choice even with the dread pooling inside my stomach. "Surprised you are calling, I'm busy doing what you asked me to, Mr. B." Asking is such a soft word compared to what he truly did, but I remember the way the pen glided on top of the contract, my signature being left on top. His grin spread then, one akin to when a cat got the canary. His domino mask covered the rest of his face, hiding everything else I might be able to use to understand him.
"Of course, of course, my dear." His voice reminded me to focus back on the present, not an already finished past. My grip tightened too with his tone, slimy and making me shiver. I had to be glad that I wasn't like my friend, Sarah, too. She needed to always be careful, and any slip in emotions meant she would, more often than not, ending up breaking what she was holding. "I merely need your help in collating the beautiful recordings my other subordinates have scrounged up. I'm sure you will be able to finish it in... let's say, next five hours?"
My eyes flicked immediately to the corner of my monitor, where the number '00:18' was clear on top of the date. The ticklish feeling of a rope's strings brushed against my throat, reminding me of my contract and its consequences. It wasn't real, but I knew it didn't matter.
"Understood, boss man." I whispered, because there were no other paths.
The only time I had an out was before my signature was on the contract, before the black ink was on top of the white paper, stark and contrasted against one another.
I let my phone drop back onto the table, exhaustion settling around my shoulders as I covered my face with my palms. No screaming, but it was there, keening at the depth of my throat.
Soon I would go back to the work, but for now this would do.
--
Someone was driving an ice pick into my brain, slamming it into the depths, and then there was a whole marching band scurrying and all playing with percussion. Everything hurt, my nerves pinching, and all I wished to do was groan and curl up in bed. Maybe have a warm chocolate drink on hand. The orange light coming from the window wasn't helping, how was it already morning?
At least I have sent the data to Braid, and then my own work just now. On time, if I didn't count the five extra hours it took me because of Braid's demand. I could pretend I merely fell asleep, probably. Echidna would only have a problem if I didn't finish it before the new workday came around, or at least that was what I gathered. Sarah probably could help if she got too angry... But then again, that would be using my friend against her own mother? I didn't even know where I was going with this.
Shaking my head a little to try clearing my head--I groaned as my whole brain sloshed around inside my skull. I needed rest, desperately. Or maybe some coffee or tea. I couldn't afford to be picky right now.
I stood up, feeling the slight tremble across my legs still. No, this wasn't a good time to focus on that. Let's just walk out, one step over another... My eyes occasionally would slip shut, and it was merely the feeling of my body falling that saved me so many times.
So tired. So sleepy.
Even when I finally had the drink in my hand, my body leaning against the wall... I could still feel the tiredness lurking at the edge of my thought. The coffee was a bitter swill, dark and viscous, and yet not enough to push away the cobwebs in my eyes.
Maybe a walk would be better.
I gulped the rest of the hot drink, put the mug into the dishwasher, and walked through the white and sterile corridor. Always felt so hostile, even worse when I was like this. Tired mentally, and turning everything into something too harsh.
Without any idea of where to go, I let my feet bring me to the lift, my eyes roving over the different floors. No, I didn't wish to listen or meet anyone, except maybe for Sarah. Although then again, she was the whole reason why I was in this predicament between Braid and Echidna...
Ugh. I pressed the button to go to the basement, in the end picking Echidna's laboratory. No one really liked to go there, what with the various monsters the gang leader had made with her hands. While I might lose a finger or something from them snapping at me, I was sure that Echidna kept them in tight leash. Or maybe they would be kept in a cage of some sort.
Besides, there were a part of me that was actually curious. Of how these creatures would behave when they weren't being used as shock troops against other gangs and the Guardians. Or even when they were thrown against one another, their fight filmed to be shown off online for the sick pleasures of people who enjoyed true pain and blood in their sight.
The lift was a little grungy, with questionable dark stains on the walls and floor. Bleach was the heaviest scent filling the tight space, one I tried to not think about too much. I didn't even lean against the walls, not wanting anything to end up on my shirt. Just my finger tapping against my hips as I waited for the lift to slowly jutter itself down, shuddering and jerking every step of the way.
I was glad to leave it when it finally opened at the right floor--even if it meant I was immediately smacked with the heavy
musky
smell permeating the whole place. If nothing else, that at least made me woke up, a little adrenaline finally running in my bloodstream.
My wide eyes took in all the cages, each one filled with monsters--and none of them looked alike one another. Some were bigger than humans, standing on their hind legs, tails that ranged from reptilian to mammalian swishing behind to keep their balance. Some were smaller, quadruped creatures that crawled close to the floor or as tall as a hyena. They were all a mish-mash of creatures, furs and scales mixing with one another until no one could know what it was beyond its basic shape.
The most unsettling part, though? It was the silence. Their eyes, all glowing yellow in the darkened room, followed me as I walked deeper. Looking, watching without a snarl or an attempt to get out of the cage. It was so different from when they were in the arena, fighting against one another, or just when used as shock troops
I somehow knew where to step towards, a tug in my head that both made my thoughts fuzzier and yet knowing where I should be walking to. There was a certainty with each step, as if my own power was pulling the conclusion straight into my muscles. After all, I didn't know where I was going, except deeper into the laboratory.
No fear or uncertainty was able to take hold, the seeds never even managing to take root. My head nodded off again, a momentary sleepiness that robbed me of my consciousness.
And yet, I never stopped walking. When I woke back up, my thoughts felt muddy, a fog that seemingly dragged everything down until I could barely think. Still, there wasn't any fight to be had, and so I let myself be moved, following the tug in my head--one that fogged my mind further.
I didn't know when the cage had become sparser, the surroundings emptier.
"Ah... Celes, is that you?" A soft, familiar voice called out.
My head lifted, and yet my eyelids continued to flutter. It was so hard to keep them open, as if there were magnets in my eyes, determined to keep them closed. The only sign that made me sure there was another was the light footsteps I could hear, of boots coming closer, until I could feel someone's hand against my cheek. Not a slap, just a gentle caress that made me try to open my eyes properly.
"You look so tired." She chuckled, light and airy as she pulled me close--putting my face against the crook of her neck. Letting the smell of lavender suffuse my surroundings, even if it was mixed with the smell of iron and salt.
"Sarah?" I mumbled, letting my head droop against her, knowing that she was the few people I could feel safe with. After all, we were friends. She even asked Echidna to hire me... While that came with its own set of problems, the issue with Braid wasn't exactly her fault.
"Mmhmm. What brings you here? No one tends to come down here..." Her voice was so soft, gentle, easily caressing and calming any spike of feelings that might have formed. There was something else moving at the edge of my sight, but it was hard to focus elsewhere.
Especially with the way Sarah touched me, distracting and making it easier to let myself drown within the fog. I could feel the tension across my shoulder unwinding, a soft exhalation of relief coming out of me. "Just tired." I whispered, barely trying to string the words together.
I didn't even know what Sarah was doing, except for the fact she was warm, and my mind was all fuzzy with every breath. Her fingers were slowly running down across my spine, sending shivers through me and yet, it was all I could do to try fluttering my eyes open again.
Unfortunately, the attempt was cut short with her voice. Making me focus back onto Sarah and nothing else. "Why don't you tell me why you are tired? I don't think Mom gave you that hard of a work, right? Do I need to ask her for some leniency?" There was a questioning note in her words, as if she was uncertain what she was doing.
I couldn't think upon that though--I was focusing on the fear the question invoked within me, which made me jolt even as I shook my head. It made me dizzy, the fog unkind to any attempts to clear my head. Sarah gently sushed me, her hand moving immediately towards my head to let her fingers thread through my hair. It was... calming. I found my eyes drooping down again, as Sarah asked her question again.
I wasn't pulled out this time. "No... It's Braid." I whispered, the words easily forming in my mouth. There was a part of me that was horrified, wondering how I could be doing this so easily. But it was easy to just continue, especially when Sarah continued to pet my hair. "He demanded for me to do his work, to finish it before today's work time would even begin. I'm so..."
